Issue Number 82

January-February 1983 ISSUE NUMBER 82

Editorial Yet, it was so. Durant had latched onto the luxury car. The big question was what he intended to do with it. Everyone enjoyed the Sensaud de Lavaud item in the last edition of To William C. Durant must go the lion's share of the credit is the Journal, although a few members wrote of their extreme keeping the hallowed name of Locomobile exClusive and displeasure at your editors poor performance in proof reading that somewhat aloof from its nearest competitors in the high-priced issue. I will make every effort to keep the level of our Journal at its field - such as they were - when the magnate purchased the highest in the future. make from Hare's Motors. Regardless of what Durant had done and would do in the automobile business, the big Model "48" car Walt Gosden - the only one to carry the Locomobile insigne at that time - FYI by CB would not be cheapened in any matter. Among his first releases regarding future policy for the make, it Out of the 400-odd dues renewal notices issued October 27, 1982, was announced that 'The Locomobile Company of America, only 47.5% have been returned. If you want to be listed in our organized in 1899, desires that all users of Fine Cars and the motor­ 1983 Membership Directory, it will be necessary that your dues for ing public generally shall know through this announcement the 1983 are paid no later than February 1, 1983. Checks or money aims and the policy of the Company, as re-organized in 1922. orders in the amount of $20.00 U.S. currency, payable to the 'The identity of the Locomobile as a car of the finest quaJity will Society of Automotive Historians Inc., are to be sent to Charles be preserved. No changes in design are contemplated. No change Betts, Secretary, 2105 Stackhouse Drive, Yardley, PA 19067, will be authorized except such as the most careful engineering may U.S.A. dictate for the further refinement and improvement of the car, and the greater elevation of Locomobile standards. "The Locomobile will continue to be built in Bridgeport, Con­ necticut, and nowhere else . It will be produc~d in quantities com­ SAH member, Frank Barrett, proprietor of Toad Hall Motor­ mesurate with its quality and price." books, Denver, Colorado, has been named editor/ publisher of That was laying it right on the line and, as far as the Model "48" The Mercedes-Benz Star, national magazine of the Mercedes-Benz was concerned, there was adherence to the policy right up to the Club of America. This bi-monthly 60-page magazine has a circula­ day Locomobile closed its doors for good, some seven years in the tion of over 13,000 and is known as one of the finest automotive future. club publications. Barrett also serves as Classic Porsche Editor of Durant, of course, knew what he was doing and had a purpose Porsche Panorama, the magazine of the Porsche Club of America, in this policy of what would many years later be known as quality edited by SAH member, Betty Jo Turner, Atlanta, Georgia. He control. Dismissed from the presidency of General Motors for the edited a new 500-page book, Porsche Panorama: The First 25 second time, two scant years earlier, he had opted to go it alone as Years , published in November by the Porsche Club, featuring the a direct competitor with that conglomerate and had already work­ finest articles from 25 years of that club's magazine. ed out plans for what would become known in the trade as his To receive The Mercedes-Benz Star, write Mercedes-Benz Club 'Third Empire." It would also be his last. of America, P .O . Box 9985, Colorado Springs, CO 80932; to Durant visualized another mammoth corporation in the land of­ receive Porsche Panorama, write Porsche Club of America, P.O . fering a complete line of automobiles covering all price ranges and Box 10402, Alexandria, VA 22310. going from the cheapest car which could be built to the ultra­ luxury range. And that ultra-luxury offering turned out to be the From: Detroit Library NAHC News. After serving a little more Locomobile. than a year as curator of the National Automotive History Collec­ Locomobile itself had fallen on hard times following World War tion at the Detroit Public Library, economic hard times in the area I and, along with Simplex and Mercer, had been acquired by forced massive layoffs, and the downgrading in the position of Emlen S. Hare, formerly vice president of. Packard, who had Sandy Sandula. While she is still working at the library, she is no dreams of marketing the three quality cars in increased numbers. longer in the auto history section. She was replaced by veteran He had picked up Locomobile in October 1919 but by 1922, with librarian Gloria Francis, who was head of the famed rare book his plans still on the drawing board, was delighted to divest himself room of the Detroit Library, which has been ordered dosed for a of what had turned out to be a white elephant. Durant's plans were lack of funds to keep it operating. thus tailor-made to those of Hare and the company changed hands. In 1921, the Durant Four had been introduced. In 1922, along with his acquisition of Locomobile, Durant brought out the Star, MR. DURANT'S WHITE ELEPHANT AND THE BLUE BOOK and about the same time purchased the Muncie, Ind., plant of By Keith Marvin GM's moribund Sheridan car, in which very shortly the Durant Six would be produced. The Flint would be added to the overall In 1922, the automotive press carried the news that the line the following year. Two other Durant-inspired offerings, the Locomobile motor car had been purchased by William C. Durant Eagle and the Princeton, were abandoned at the prototype stage. who was just then struggling to line up a stable of different makes By the time the Flint was introduced, the battle lines were drawn of car in virtually every price range. Readers looked askance. between General Motors and Durant for the big competitive war. Somehow the name and reputation of the high-pressure GM, with its lineup of Chevrolet, Oakland, Oldsmobile, Buick, businessman and promoter didn't quite jibe with the staid image of Cadillac and GMC truck faced its challenger's line comprising the Locomobile, one of arch-conservatism generally associated Durant Four and Six, Star, Flint, Locomobile, Rugby (actually a with an exclusive clientele of affluence and position. Star for the export market), and Mason truck. . Although Star sales would reach seventh place in American very pretty small brochures, expensively printed on laid paper, automobile sales in 1923, the battle was never evenly pitched, were distributed for the enlightenment of all comers and the Durant's hoped-for production never achieved its goal, and he satisfaction of owners who had already 'arrived'. ultimately lost the war by default. By 1932, the Durant Third Em­ One of the first of these was entitled, "A Rich Heritage" and pire had drawn to an inglorious close. regaled its readers with its credo on Page 1: Although as far as competition between GM and Durant Motors "To honor the past," it ran, "but to look upon heritage as an went, the big Locomobile vied against the Cadillac was GM's most obligation to strive for greater triumphs in the future, is the expensive offering, true, but it was a no nonsense sort of quality LOCOMOBILE creed." car, stodgy in design, and with a price range between $3100 and In the next dozen page, similar homilies were sprinkled among $4600. such reminders referring to the car's past triumphs on the race Locomobile, on the other hand, wasn't stodgy in any way, was track, the fact that a Locomobile had been the first car to ascend longer by ten inches than its Detroit compatriot which allowed for Mt. Washington and, incidentally, that it was the personal car of. ethereal coachwork, among other things. The price differential the President of the United States. was the most marked difference between them. With prices set at The most significant bit of information contained in its pages $7600 to $11,000, Locomobile's cheapest offering cost some $3,000 was a reference to its "Blue Book", or more explicitly, "The Blue more than Cadillac's most expensive. Book of Locomobile Owners." There was an iota of truth, too, in the feeling that Locomobile 'The Blue Book of the Locomobile (sic) contains hundreds of people simply weren't Cadillac people and vice-versa. names which immediately identify Locomobile owners as the Having acquired the Locomobile, lock, stock and barrel, leaders of thought and service in America", it said.* Durant got to work in the promotion of his new baby, and he The Blue Book was, of course, a direct reference and a sort of doubtless gave this considerable thought. Locomobile had always plagerizing of the existing and ubiquitous series of publications of been extremely elaborate in its advertising and put a great deal of that name which served virtually every community in the land in money into the medium, it's hardbound catalogues, comprising those days with a population above 50,000 or so listing its citizens, some 210 pages, being the most elaborate at the time. At the same their clubs and so on. It was a sort of catchall of who was in a given time, the sachems at Locomobile had never feel it need apologize in community, a sort of a s<;aled down, small time Social Register. any way whatsoever in wooing the very rich, prominent and socially acceptable as its desired clientele. It was a luxury car, pure But like "blue blood", 'blue chip" and other references to the and simple, and unashamededly tailored to those who could ap­ color and its connotation, the effect was nicely achieved. Conse­ preciate and afford it. It wasn't a flashy car in a cheap sense but quently the Loco mobile Blue Book was worked out, pasted up and rather exuded an aura of good breeding. And whereas Loco sent to the printer. dealers didn't exactly screen potential purchasers, it is a matter of It is a very rare item these days for three salient reasons. First, it record that the late AI Capone and his ilk were not clients of the was small, measuring but 2Vz x 31/z inches and containing only 18 make. There was a quiet aristocracy in Locomobile design. pages, this making it readily "loseable". Secondly, the number of Locomobile people - the dealers as well as the owners - took the copies made was strictly limited. Finally, its very exclusivity product seriously. What other company could have said, with a limited its distribution. Locomobile dealers carried it along with straight face , what Locomobile had a few years earlier, that in its other brochures, but it wasn't given to all comers willy-nill . It ~--..cars-"no s ockparfs or ready rna eu nils are permifiect"- -- must have been relatively expensive to produce in any case. Bound Durant decided that if he expected to keep the Locomobile on in blue leather and adorned with goldleaf filigree work and the title the social plain it had achieved over the years, the conservative ap­ on its cover, its pages comprised expensive laid paper. It was ob­ proach would best serve its destiny and by 'conservative', this viously printed for effect - but effects can be expensive and the meant what we today would term snob appeal. Forthwith, some Blue Book was. The contents were largely based on a scattering of names of Locomobile owners in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and California. It was a sort of WHO'S WHO, SOCIAL REGISTER and ALMANACH DE GOTHA, all bound up together with genteel overtones. 'To those who have chosen the LOCOMOBILE to serve them," caroled the foreword, "and to the hundreds of Americans who Editor Editorial Office: SAH journal, have sincere admiration for the LOCOMOBILE as expressive of Walter E. Gosden 197 Mayfair Ave., floral Park, the finer ideals of American craftsmanship, this little volume is Art Director Long Island, NY 11001 dedicated." John M. Peckham The facing page was equally fascinating: The Personal Car of Warren G. Harding is a Locomobile", it said. Publication Committee Walter E. Gosden Then followed a 'select listing' of the names of representative Beverly Rae Kimes, Chairperson David L. Lewis owners residing in four cities and the State of California and since George B.P. Ward, Jr. Frederick D. Roe only a handful of names could be fitted in for each, the choice of the names, presumably printed after permission had been granted The SAH journal published Copyright 1983 by those listed, must have been a difficult task for the Bridgeport six times a year by The Society of The Society of Automotive promotion team. Automotive Historians Inc. Historians Inc. Among the august few residing in Boston which were selected SOCIETY OF AUTOMOTIVE HISTORIANS' OFFICERS 1983 were Governor Channing Cox, L.K. Liggett and Charles D . Russell . Locomobile owners in New York City included Mrs. PRESIDENT SECRETARY Oliver H.P. Belmont, Mrs. Ogden Mills Reid and Mrs. Cornelius David L. Lewis Charles L. Betts, Jr . Vanderbilt. 2588 Hawthorn Rd. 2105 Stackhouse Dr. In the City of Brotherly Love, Loco owners were Governeur Ann Arbor, MI 48104 Yardley, PA 19067 Cadwallader, His Eminence Dennis Cardinal Dougherty, the TREASURER Countess Santa Eulalia and Rodman Wanamaker 2nd, and in VICE PRESIDENT George B.P. Ward, Jr. Chicago there were J. Ogden Armour, Mrs. Lolita Armour and Keith Marvin c/ o Maryland National Bank William Wrigley Jr. Mrs. Anita Baldwin and Hiram Johnson Jr. shared California P.O. Box 839 P.O. Box 987 ownership honors with Cecil B. DeMille, Charlie Chaplin and Troy, N.Y. 12181 Baltimore, MD 21203 Tom Mix.

2 - . Whether this approach to sales paid off in the long run or didn't I And yet, despite the fact it had been introduced 14 years earlier, have no idea. I have wondered, though, whether there were any and updated by such niceties (and necessities) as balloon tires, other editions of 'The Blue Book of Locomobile Owners" perhaps, four-wheel brakes and safety glass, the "48" was available to all listing some other cities' clientele. Surely, Locomobiles abounded until the fateful moment when the key was turned in the door at in such places as Cincinnati, Detroit, Palm Beach and the Bridgeport works for the last time that chilly day in 1929 and Washington. Locomobile came to an end forever. At the end of the little volume, a sort of epilogue was included, Although it still may have been a mechanical marvel and a presumably for anyone who hadn't gotten the message by then. revelation in craftsmanship and quality, it was also an "Locomobile has been described as 'an exclusive car for ex­ anachronism with its cast bronze gearbox, four-speed transmis­ clusive people'", it explain. "It will always remain so true to its sion and cylinders reminiscent of small ice cream cans. And if it ideals that this phrase will retain its eloquence. was truly the epitome of what a great car could be, it illustrated the "Locomobile is essentially a motor car to be enjoyed by those purchasing habits and preferences of the public in general. The old who love the finer products of any art. It is essentially a car of in­ may retain its quality but modern design will ever have the edge. It dividual character -a car which, often times, becomes expressive always have and it probably always will. of the personality of those who choose it." *1- As to the "hundreds of names" which were ostensibly listed, I have no idea how long the "Blue Book" was distributed to pro­ this was a bit generous. My copy contains 135. mote the Locomobile but I suspect it wasn't very long and that when the supply of the tiny books was exhausted, that was it, at Letters least the edition which so proudly announced that the car had been the personal preference of the President. From: Mike Worthington-Williams, Glaspant Manor, Capel !fan, Newcastle Emlyn, Dyfed; South Wales: Enjoyed the Sensaud de At the time the "Blue Book" was printed, President Warren G. Lavaud piece, th'e only thing I have to add to the story is that the Harding was enormously popular and though none knew it , late twenties S deL's operations were carried out in a corner of the Teapot Dome was just around the corner. A year later Harding La Buire factory in Lyon (France). himself would be fatally stricken in a San Francisco hotel room and La Buire themselves were dying but I don't know whether any of five years hence, Nan Britton would publish her novel, 'The Presi­ this money was in the S de L venture or not. It was possibly just a dent's Daughter" revealing the story of her daughter by the chief case of renting out a corner of the semi-moribund works to earn a executive. little cash I Locomobile continued on through the 1920s, but it did not do For the record I would like to correct the captions of the pictures well. In 1925, its Junior Eight was announced, a medium-priced car I sent that were printed in #77. Bottom of page 4- Royal Tolosa; which aimed at Chrysler for competition. The Junior Eight was a top of page 5- Royal Boscombe rp.otorcycle; beneath this- Suffolk good car but its Locomobile parentage was played down more or - Royal and beneath this Forgeolt-Transsac, the Vattel-Mortier less and it was generally known as a Junior Eight and that was that. and Corona were not illustrated. It was not a financial success, however, and it was phased out a couple of years later. In 1926, the Model "90" appeared. This was a From: Karl 5. Zahm, 3111 Burrmont Road, Rockford, IL 61107. slightly scaled-down Model "48" at less money (the touring car Re the "Mystery" Packard Super 8 on page 7 of the Nov-Dec '82 · listed at $5500 to the "48"'s $7460) but the cars DID look similar issue of THE JOURNAL, I believe this to be a Franay body circa and could be mistaken for one another. 1937, possibly early 1938. Later on, all sorts of models appeared - a conglomeration of I have a photo taken at the Paris Auto Show showing a very types, some of which had in~house engines, others carrying similar Packard town car. The major difference being that yours is Lycoming and Continentals under their hoods. These were called right hand drive, while mine is left hand drive. The small rec­ Locomobiles, too, and that did not help the image, theretofore tangular body builder's tag on the lower side of the front door, made immortal by the mighty "48" and, in a sense, by its kid sister, identifies both as Franay bodies. Other differences between the the "90". two include white wall tires, chromed headlight bodies and a black And despite the fact that the cheaper models were not the adver­ center "treadcover" portion of the sidernount cover on my phol:o. tised available cars by Locomobile, the "90" and the "48" were Other than this, the two cars are visually identical. generally cited in the ads as being available' as such they were, the '90' carrying a price range of from $5500 to $7500 and the "48" From: W.O. Macllvain, 17 Bonner Rd. , Manchester, Conn. from $7400 to $12,500. There were few takers for either by the late 06040. The mystery car in the Sept.-Oct. Journal is a Garford-built 1920's. Both had become dinosauers. Studebaker suburban of 1908. It was convertible to a runabout, to On March 31st 1929, Locomobile 'suspended' production, the a baggage car or to a four-pass touring car. On page 2 the name implication being that in time, production would resume. It never should be Gormully & Jeffery, as you will probably be reminded. did. Great Journal! From: Peter Heick, Boston Comers, R.D. 2, Millerton, N .Y. Just From: Fred W. Crismon, 321 Godfrey Avenue, Louisville, Ken­ to keep the records valid, the Simplex racer in your October tucky 40206: I recently noticed in the Sep-Oct Journal that the number is the winner of the 3rd Brighton Beach- 24 hours, Oct. 2 Henry Ford Museum had announced that the Autocar archives are and 3, 1908, was driven by George Robertson and Frank Lescault available for public use . to a new record of 1177 miles. The mechanic shown beside Several months ago I had dealings with the personnel there con­ Lescault might be Doug Coote. The next page shows an cerning those archives, and as a result, I wrote to the Volvo-White unspecified "Event". This is the 1908 Vanderbilt and shows firm to inquire whether something positive which existed. To wit: --..... Haupt's Chadwick in action. a . The files were primarily negatives, which means your average \____) researcher should not have his hands on them due to their age and From: Jim Petrik, 7275 Berwood Drive, Madeira, Ohio 45243: I am condition. Much of the film was nitrite, i.e. not safety film, and writing to help you solve the Packard mystery car in Journal #81 . many of the negatives are glass. First let me say that you must have some picture collection. got b. The negatives were piled horizontally in boxes, many with no some odd stuff in it, for darn sure. The year of the car is 1936, the paper barrier between them, and many of them were already model is the Eight -the smallest of the Senior Packards. The car­ deteriorating badly and in some cases obviously affecting the ad­ rossier is Franay of Paris. joining negative. c. A portion of the negatives had been destroyed in a fire within From: Cornelius W. Hanck, 8400 Summerhouse Rd., Cincinnati, the archives (!) a few years ago, and no effort had been made to Ohio 45243 . The enclosed item from AUTOMOTIVE IN­ separate the severely damaged or destroyed negatives from those DUSTRIES of March 13, 1924, is the kind of thing that turns out to which could be salvaged. Unfortunately military vehicles be either (a) an historic "find" or (b) the source of a big fat argu­ (1941c1945) were among those destroyed, and they were the only ment. In any event, it seems like an interesting item -if not this, ones I was seriously interested in. when did they start using a clay model for body design? Surely not d. The management was not at all enthusiastic about even much before this. allowing anyone to look at the negatives, and seemed to have no real interest in the Autocar files. e. The price which the Henry Ford Museum wants to charge for Cole Makes Clay Model of New Body Design an 8x10 copy of any negative or photograph (around $15) is outrageous, and will be a barrier to all but the most affluent resear­ J,J . COLE, president of the Cole Motor Car Co., used a novel cher. Furthermore, they no longer allow personal camera copying method in body design in connection with the latest Cole bodies. because it gives them no cash income. Instead of laying out the job on a drafting board, a clay model was I really believe the Autocar archives should be somewhere molded over an old design. In this way it was possible to visualize where researchers can expect to have reasonable access to usable clearly and at relatively low expense just what the body lines prints, and where the staff is concerned about both the welfare of would be. Later the job was laid out in the drafting room, of the archives and the needs of legitimate researchers. Incidentally, course, and exact details were filled in. Mr. Cole, who is an expert the Autocar archives after the merger with White (c . 1953) are very molder in clay, is said to have donned overalls and assisted logically located with the extremely well-cataloged and main­ materially in the working out of this new idea. tained White archives in Cleveland. ----~ From: R.P. Spangler, 305 E. Young Ave., Temple, Texas 76501. From: Max Gregory, "Beltana", Korumburra Road, Drouin Can someone give me the address of Mr. Owen R. Goodrich? A South, Victoria, 3818, Australia. Your remarks of commendation letter from him appeared in Newsletter #52 of March 1977, but in respect of Bill Lewis' Sensaud de Lavaud piece are well worthy without his address. I am doing research for a history of Glide of being heartily supported. automobiles and The Bartholomew Co., as was Mr. Goodrich and His commentary on automatic transmission systems develop­ would like to contact him. I was born and raised in Peoria, and ment in general should serve as a thought prompter on the subject before her marriage my mother was secretary to Mr. O .Y. Bar­ as did the survey of sleeve and rotary valve systems by Dick tholomew. Brigham in AHR 9. His speculation about the acceptance of the Sensaud de Lavaud From: Max Gregory "Beltana", Korumburra Road, Drouin South, system if it had been attached to a much more powerful engine Victoria, 3818, Australia. Issue No. 80 has just come to hand and I lines up quite well with the opinion expressed about it by J .A. have noted the remarks about the pre-history of Rambler by Ralph Gregoire who spoke of power losses of 20 to 30 % which led to Dunwoodie. boiling of the oil when used in hilly country. He pointed out that a He states that the correct spelling of the original partnership similar unit such as the Buick Dyanaflow gave satisfaction because name is Gormull & Jeffrey but I would seek his assurance that this its powerful engine allowed it to run most of the time in direct is really the case and that we are not looking at another typo drive. because I have noticed some references to it in contemporary However I believe that Bill has erred in his passing reference to Australian cycle journals when it was always rendered as Gormul­ other transmissions when he speaks of the "Hobbs unit as used. by ly & Jeffrey. Austin". In the pre-WW2 period Austin used a Hayes · system In 1896 the Western District Reporter & Wheelman gave space which suffered from the wearing of tracks on the most used f<1-ces to the legal case then in progress between Gormully & Jeffrey of of the roller paths, resulting in it staying in the same ratio . I am of Chicago and the North British Rubber Co. over some patent mat­ the opinion that this now goes under the name of Perbury and has ter relating to pneumatic tires. found a place in the ancillary drives from gas turbine engines In 1897 the Austral Wheel magazine reported on the Chicago where it is better suited to the high speed low torque application. Cycle Show and made mention of the Rambler cycle by Gormully The Hobbs unit of which he speaks is that which was the work & Jeffrey, Chicago. In another article the Rambler cycle was of the Australian H.F. Hobbs who took it to the U.K. in the 1930's. reported as having been displayed at the Melbourne Cycle Show, It was a twin-clutch epicyclic automatic without a torque con­ its makers then being given as the G. & J. Tire Co. of Chicago. verter which gave it a great advantage, when applied to smaller Although I cannot now locate the further reference I have a cars, of only having the minimum power loss of the driving of the recollection of another in which the same names were used and the hydraulic actuating pump. It seemed set for production when it snippet of information proffered that Thomas B. Jeffrey was the was selected for the 1.6litre Lanchester Sprite car in 1954, which, son-in-law of Gormully. for various reasons, never made it . The inherent low fuel con­ It would appear that the original line of business lay with rubber sumption of this automatic gave them what designers have been working and the production of cycle tires to which was added the actively seeking since the upsurge in world fuel price. Howard making of complete bicycles as the 'ninties cycle boom took fire. Hobbs was the father of David Hobbs who came to notice as a rac­ Did Gormully have a "y" or Gormull not. If not, why not? ing driver in the 'sixties.

4 FRONT WHEEL DRIVE PIONEER By Jan P. Nor bye

It wasn't Issigonis and the Austin Mini that started the trend towards front wheel drive with transversely mounted engines. Nor was it DKW in Germany, who began production of two-cylinder two-stroke cars in 1931, along the same installation principle. The most important pioneer of that layout was certainly John Walter Christie, who built a number of prototypes from 1904 to 1911. But he was not the very first. Who was first? The Graf & Stift now on exhibit in the Technical Museum of Vienna was built between 1895 and 1898, according to existing sources. The French also have a candidate, and a car from 1899 has been preserved and can be seen in the auto museum at Le Mans. Its name: Latil. The engine is a water-cooled single-cylinder Aster, installed ver­ tically, ahead of the front wheel axis, offset to the right. Two pulleys on the output shaft, next to the flywheel, carried belts for taking the drive to the axle-shafts. Releasing one pulley or the The light car may have been the third Latil prototype. But no other provided a two-speed transmission. production resulted. In fact, Korn and Latil were running· out of The front axle was split, but not in the form of swing axles . In­ money. Fortunately a businessman with a diploma from the Ecole stead, here we see open shafts with universal joints at both inboard Polytechnique, Charles Blum, had seen the La til cars and pumped and hub ends. "Essieu brise" Latil called it. In translation, that new funds into the business. Aided by Blum, they moved into new comes out as 'broken axle' but 'split axle' would be a more accurate and larger premises at Suresnes, on the banks of the Seine, a little description. way upstream from Levallois. Here, Korn & Latil began produc­ Long semi-elliptic springs were clamped to the hub carriers, tion of front-wheel-drive trucks. By 1906 it had a steady clientele which were linked by a bent tube running across the car behind the and the future seemed assured. About 1911 Latil went into the power train. Thus we see that Latil was able to draw advantages four-wheel-drive truck field, and during World War I Latil turned from the de Dion-Bouton type of suspension (which the the factory completely over to the production of four-wheel-drive originators used for the rear wheels) to solve the basic problem of artillery tractors. driving the wheels that also steer. During the 1920s, the Latil factory concentrated on truck pro­ It is interesting that Graf & Stift had quite independently arrived duction for the civilian market, mainly with conventional chassis. at the same solution, which-many years later-was favored by But four-wheel-drive models were always available. Georges Latil Ben F. Gregory, Harry Miller, and used on the Cord L-29. assumed the title of sales director about 1930 and retired in 1939 to The La til was advanced in various other ways, too. Its low build a villa at La Colle near Vence in the south of France. Charles Blum gave a low seating position, low center of gravity, and easy entry. fled to America in 1940 and died there during the war, but his son It had a steering wheel on a backwards-slanted column, and equal­ took over the leadership of Latil. size wire wheels front and rear, shod with Dunlop pneumatic tires. In 1955 Renault acquired control of the Latil company and This car was the work of Auguste Georges Latil, born in merged it with another firm recently taken over, Somua, which Marseille in 1878 as the son of a notary. The father liked to tinker had started as the truck-building subsidiary of the schneider­ and had a small workshop, where young Georges (as he was call­ Creusot armaments group in 1915, into Renault's own truck divi­ ed) could develop his mechanical sense and skills. He was about 16 sion. That was the birth of the make SAVIEM (which was used un­ years old when he went to Paris and found a partner, Alois Korn, til 1980, after the merger with Berliet, and the revival of the with whom he started a mechanical workshop at Levallois, a Renault name for trucks and buses). Georges Latil was given the western suburb brimming with small factories . Legion of Honor for his work in the industry and lived quietly in his retirement home until his death in May, 1961.

Research Column

Wanted: Information on the following gentlemen who were associated at one time or another with the Cameron Car Company located in various New England cities including Brockton and Beverly, Massachusetts and New Haven, Connecticut. H.R. Averill, prior to his association with the Pullman and sphinx cars; H.R. Doherty following his connection with the Corbin car; E.A . Sheu "formerly general manager Invader Oil Company"; Charles It is almost certain that young Latil already had made up his S. Kellom "founder of Invader Oil Company; Frank S. Corlew front-wheel-drive layout for cars, though they were not yet in the "well known to the trade"; E. Howard Perley receiver following car business. It is on record that his father and a brother named bankruptcy in 1912 and, finally, A.B. Emerson "treasurer", with Lazare assisted in drawing up the patent application -quite Cameron during several reorganizations. William T. Cameron, natural for a notary. It also appears that Lazare came to Paris and 7495 Clearwater Road, Minocqua, WI 54548. assisted in the construction of the first car, reputedly completed in 1898. It was a converted horse-drawn farm-wagon. A second one was similar, but had bench seating for four persons.

5 Book Reviews THE BIRTH OF THE BRITISH MOTOR CAR, by T.R. My own feeling is that if HISTOIRE DE L'AUTOMOBILE EN Nicholson. Three volumes, 163, 170 and 173 pp. respectively. 10, FRANCE might eventually make its appearance in an English 9 and 13 illust., respectively. Hard covers, 9 11116 x 6% inches. translation, it would probably enjoy a successful sale both in the ISBN 0 333 32717 9 (for the set). Humanities Press, Atlantic British Isles and stateside. And perhaps this will happen, although Highlands, N.J., 07716. $40.00 per volume less 30 percent prepay­ I doubt it. ment with order. Postage 88 cents per volume. Meanwhile, I'd advise anyone interested either in the subject, or The name of British automotive historian Tim Nicholson will be in a beautiful book on automotive history, to look into this one. lt immediately recognized by members of The Society of is the sort of thing that, if it doesn't appear in a translated version, Automotive Historians as one of the top researcher-writers in the COULD very easily disappear from the scene of availability and field today and in this series, what we have basically is exactly then, you just might be sorry you didn't get it while you could. what Dr. Nicholson wrote for his Ph.D thesis for Leicester Univer­ sity, an accomplishment which was achieved in full. The subject Keith Marvin matter, properly done, has been long overdue and at last we have it. THE AUTOMOBILE REVOLUTION: THE IMPACT OF AN IN­ It is not everyone's cup of tea and, excepting for the last bit of it, DUSTRY, by Jean-Pierre Bardou, Jean-Jacques Chanaron, Patrick the material hardly applies to the motor car in its proper Fridenson and James M . Laux; translated from the French by James significance in the overall pattern of things. M . Laux. 335 pp., 16 photos. 91/ 4 x 5% inches. Hard covers. ISBN There is, however, ample and full coverage on the early at- . 0.8078.1496.2. University of North Carolina Press, P.O. Box tempts by the British in road transportation away back when. We 2288, Chapel Hill, N.C., 27514. $20.00. have all seen those gorgeous prints of yesteryear - primarily the Initially published in Paris some five years ago, this work is a early and mid years of the Ninteenth Century - of the steam fine study and insight into what it purports to be "the first serious stages which plied between various English cities, exuding progress world history of the most significant industry of the twentieth cen­ and with merry people inside and on the roof. Oddly enough, tury - automobile manufacturing - and its profound impact on most of these depict the vehicles in black and yellow, undoubtably world society." Having been through this book twice to date, I say a concession to accepted coaching colors (and livery) in those early Amen to that. Victorian days. Like any other study of its type, it is dry reading now and then. Of course, many of these 'runs' never left the drawing board and, On the other hand, a study of this scope can scarcely be set down in other cases, others failed quickly; either due to imperfect steam in coffee table book turns and I think that anyone who really looks principles or lack of interest. Also; there was the road tax. In those into its pages and into its overall coverage will soon realize that halcyon days, there was talk that the road steam stages might give what effort has been expended is akin to bread cast upon the the railroads serious competition. That competition never came. waters. After all, the subject is unbelievably complex and Messrs. Yet, as these experiments withered and died on the vine, so to Bardou, Chanaron, Fridenson and Laux have done themselves speak, the internal combustion engineers were beginning to come proud in the burden of their collective talent. into their own - Daimler in Germany, Panhard in France - There should be more books on more automotive subjects writ­ subsequent importation into the UK and, viola, the motor car ar­ ten of this type. Unfortunately, the trend has been toward an over­ rived. abundance of writing and illustrative material, coated paper and It haSi:)een witn us ever Since, of course. We tal

7 Period Photograph: This circa 1925 Farman A6B, 6 cylinder was photographed as it sat at the manufacturers exhibit at the Paris Salon. From the collection of the editor.

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Jan.-Feb . 1983 Issue Number 82